Carlow OHaras Irish Red

Brewed by Carlow
Style: Irish Ale
Carlow, Ireland

Appearance: Pours a dark translucent amber/brown with a 2 finger off white head. It stayed nice and frothy throughout the entire duration of the beer. Fantastic lacing. Smell: It has the classic Red Ale element, what ever it is that makes that attribute so recognizable. It has an aroma of sweet roasted malts and a speckling of dryness. The hops are present but very hidden. Taste & Mouthfeel: Very sweet and malty! There is not a lot of depth, or complexity to the taste, but it is pleasant and easy to drink. There are hints of that classic ’red,’ that may be birch or cream soda. This is a very straightforward, inoffensive and balanced beer. The taste experience moves right into to mouthfeel, largely because the predominate characteristic is the creaminess. This beer is extremely smooth and creamy with a full body and lightweight. It has a nice dry finish. Very easy on the palate! Drinkability: This is not the most interesting beer but it is extremely easy to drink. It sits light in the stomach and begs for more. Definitely a sessionable beer for me. I wish I had gotten a case. If you like the style (this may not be the best in it but) you will probably enjoy this beer. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!

Bottle: Pours deep amber with a nice beige head. Tiny malty aroma. Taste of weak caramel malt and hops. Slightly bitter finish. Watery palate. Light bodied.

Bottle. Caramel malt aromas. Bitterness is good, and it has a malty, roasted barley flavor.

Dark brown with a beige foam head. Aroma of caramel malt initially, then giving way to some citric hops and roasted barley. On tasting it has a nice and dry bitterness that lasts, complementing the earthy smoke that appears on the aftertaste. A bit of a fizz in the palate, but a nice medium body outlasts this.

VEyr nic ein taste, in appearance was not that red. BUt in taste it was extrtemely good. NIce foam too.

As a red ale, this was not very representative of a favorite style of mine. There was no hop presence, but worse yet, the malt flavors were not too malty. Rather, the best word for this beer is yeasty. The scent of O’Haras Irish Red was good and beery, but the taste was that of an awkward marriage between wine and beer. As the beer warmed, the wine taste became even more prominent. My fiance remarked that it tasted more like champagne than wine, but still had little resemblance to beer. Having bashed this beer for a long paragraph now, I’d like to justify my score of 3.3 out of 5. Shortly after turning 21 in 2003, I walked into the local faux Irish pub and ordered a Kilian’s. I didn’t know any better. The bartender immediately recommended this beer, then known as Moling’s Irish Red. I loved the flavor and bought out my local liquor store’s supply whenever they got more in. Then, Carlow Brewery apparently stopped exporting it to the US. Now repackaged as O’Haras, this beer is not what I remember, but old flames continue to haunt me. This beer has been a love of mine in the past, and I’ll be damned if tonight’s subpar experience will forever taint my fond memories of this ale. I’ll certainly give it yet another shot, and I hope you will too.

7/1/06: Bottle.
Burnt, roasted malt nose. Buster brown red body with a tan head. Nice lace. Flavor is toasted with a burnt malty-ness. Crisp, chalky finish.

Bottle. Amber coloured with almost no head. Malty and sweet with notes of caramel. Hoppy finish.